I must be missing something. I didn't see any evidence of the BB having broken, and the crank looks intact to me.I'd put money on the nut (or bolt) that holds the crank on being too loose and the crank simply working itself loose. Once the process starts it gets worse very quickly and is not limited to cheap bikes. A great many expensive aluminium cranks have been reduced to scrap metal in the space of 10km or so. This is one of the biggest advantages of the more modern systems which are less prone to this.

My thoughts too, although there was a photo on an adelaide based cycling forum of a BB spindle (supposedly on a Preset) which hadn't quite cracked but was well on it's way. That's modern Chinese 'Quality Control' for you.

(and all good hangglider , many thanks again)

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

If it is a motor assisted bicycle, and the motor is less than 200watts it is legal.

Motor assisted pedal cycles with electric or petrol engines are exempt from registration, provided the maximum engine output power does not exceed 200 watts. These vehicles must have been designed as a bicycle - that is, to be propelled by human power, with the motor attached as a supplementary aid only. Riders must follow the same road rules as for pedal cycles without motors, including wearing a helmet.

Google tells me that an 80cc engine will produce around 1500W, had no idea it would be that much.

bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

I'm looking forward to it, keen to see how yours looks. Out of interest, what don't you like about the cheap v's? I have some on my favourite bike and while i know they are heavy and the bearings aren't very smooth i've honestly never noticed any issue with them while riding.

And the conclusion to the motorised Preset story, i contacted the seller and pointed out the issue, he seemed genuinely surprised and insisted that the plod had given him the ok but accepted the info i gave him and modified the listing.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

ldrcycles wrote:I'm looking forward to it, keen to see how yours looks. Out of interest, what don't you like about the cheap v's? I have some on my favourite bike and while i know they are heavy and the bearings aren't very smooth i've honestly never noticed any issue with them while riding.

They look good but they are heavy (im not too worried about the weight tho) its just the bearings in mine are crap and the freewheel is not running true. i hope to get a chance to take it into my LBS in the on coming weeks.

slimbolik wrote: its just the bearings in mine are crap and the freewheel is not running true. i hope to get a chance to take it into my LBS in the on coming weeks.

The bearings may be alright with decent grease and proper adjustment (though it didn't make a big difference with mine) but the freewheels are nothing special, not as bad as the stock Repco Preset one but still not great, i've replaced mine with a Shimano MF30, much better.

I agree about the stem, but still looks good on the whole.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

nice ill have see if my LBS has something similar to change my freewheel over. i got my strap pedals today and changed them ova. now all im waiting for is the new stem cant wait till it arrives. ill start looking for another frame to start building another bike.

Bought another Big W bike, this time a Diamondback Bronco 26" MTB for my father in law for Christmas. Went through the same pre flight checks as the Preset, the BB and headset were both dry and overtightened, the front hub was overtightened but had a decent amount of grease, and the rear hub was ok.The brakes needed a little tweaking but work well, and the gears to my amazement were working spot on out of the box . The 'suspension' forks are predictably clunky but i've seen worse. Has an aluminium frame with a replaceable hanger and half decent welds, but it weighs a LOT. More than my Preset for sure.

It has the most upright position i've ever experienced, it takes 'sit-up-and-beg' to another level. On the whole, it looks pretty good for the price (marked down to $132 from $150).

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Hi all,I purchased a Repco Preset last year. I intend to use it more now because I am studying full time and I need to save every cent I can... my car tends to drink like a fish and my commute is only 5km over mostly flat terrain. I've always been a single speed fan since I was a kid. I love the simplicity and I personally prefer bikes that don't have cables everywhere cluttering up the handlebars. Plus it would be near impossible to flick gear levers in winter (most mornings are below freezing) when I'm wearing thickish gloves.

Anyway I see that a lot of these bikes have problems with insufficient grease from factory and that the freewheel is not exactly good quality. Well I've got the first problem sorted, I overhauled and repacked every bearing there is, apart from the pedals which I plan to upgrade as the standard ones look and feel a bit cheap and nasty. So all that's left is the troublesome freewheel. Can anyone who has upgraded theirs please tell me what kind of freewheel I should use? Is it a 1/8" chain or 3/32"? I plan on keeping the gearing the same so I would be looking at a 16 tooth. I am assuming a special tool would be needed to change the freewheel, is this the case? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

hi gr8white, you'll need to confirm the chain size yourself it's all but impossible to do on here. The freewheel will require a tool to remove it, there's a few different sorts but your local bikeshop should be able to do it for you. I've got an 18 tooth 3/32" ACS Claws freewheel and a park tools removal tool to suit that i want to sell, if you're interested just pm me otherwise i'll be putting them on ebay anyway.

To be honest, I didn't expect too much from it, but it's mainly a project bicycle, as I'm planning to put a petrol engine kit on it. The kit actually seems easier to install than correctly (and safely) assembling a bicycle (shaped object? ) from Big W. Still, I'm a uni student on a tiny budget, so as long as the bicycle frame doesn't snap in half and I end up with a pole through my body, it should be fine... or so I think.

As I have almost no experience regarding bicycle maintenance (I have trouble changing the tire on my bicycle, though I do blame bad design for that... hehe.), I have looked up some of the things to do, such as greasing ball bearings, but if someone doesn't mind, could they give me a quick, short list on how to make an at-first pretty crappy bicycle to roll safely? Thanks again.

PS: Sorry if there's a thread for things to do to a new bike, but I basically came on the forum to read this thread, and I've typed so much already. Don't want to erase. Haha. -goes off in search of threads- A list specific to Big W's bicycles would be nice though.

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